Season here just ended... Wife and I were both successful on mature whitetails. As I type, I am enjoying a venison lunch that will rival any meat out there. We cut all of our own animals and have gotten good at it over the years.

That said... My best friend and I spend a lot of time throughout the year hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, ATVing, etc. Over the years I have become a "Pseudo Unkle" to his kid. I am a reloading enthusiast and have worked with ballistics testing for years. As a long time whitetail hunter of "Northern" whitetails I've taken some heavy animals with everything from .22 caliber rounds to .338 caliber. I BELIEVE however that a .270 caliber cartridge should be the minimum to start out a young hunter with. Shot placement is key with smaller caliber rounds. That said, I think the 7mm-08 about the ultimate starter gun for whitetails in our area.

My buddy has a .243 Winchester with a 3-9X Nikon on it that I'm considering working with next summer to come up with a load for his son. He's a small kid for his age and I want to keep recoil to a minimum. After some research, I would however, like to use the Hornady A-Max in 105 grain or a Barnes bullet @ 85+ grains. I'm open to suggestions but keep in mind that this is a young shooter and I want a "Min" load that will still break the bones of the 100-180lb whitetail(dressed) that he might encounter next year. I believe in the shoulder shot as I want them anchored and that's the way he'll be trained... but I want to give him his best possibility at success with the little .243.

I have chronograph and will test in multiple medium after working up a load to be sure they perform... After the NOVEL I wrote I hope some of you have some suggestions as to a good direction for me to take. .243 for his first whitetail?

Thanks and I hope for a good response... I'll check back now and again for your opinions.

Gidday REM7600. I think that the .243 is a great calibre to start the young fella with, although you don't say how old or how big he is.

The .243 is my calibre of choice for fallow deer here in Australia and it is excellent. I think that if you start at around the 80 grain mark (I use Remington 80 gn PSP) you can load them down a little to reduce felt recoil. Only problem I see with reducing loads, rather than going for a lighter bullet, is problems with "reduced" accuracy. As Joe says, 95 gn - 100 gn are great, but they do recoil slightly more than the 80 gn.

Don't fall into the trap of using really light bullets (55 gn) for practice then go over to the heavier bullets for hunting. I don't believe that the .243 produces a level of recoil that your average teenager couldn't handle with ease.

Rem 7600:
Something you and your friend might consider is a good recoil pad on the .243. Now, before anyone gets all upset about putting a pad a "mild" recoiling rifle like that, just remember: in ALL circumstances, we shoot best with what kicks us least. And the .243 is a caliber that will provide good hunting experiences for deer-sized animals all of the young man's life, even if he doesn't wish to "upgrade."

The .243's recoil is not grim with any load, but a while ago at the range, I forgot to disengage the safety on my .22 rimfire, and when I pulled the trigger...FLINCH big time. Where'd that come from? I had no idea I was doing that.

I have been shooting rimfires since I was 12, and KNOW they don't recoil! The same thing happens with my 257 Roberts, which is no beast in the recoil department, either.

What to do? I shoot pretty well, even flinching as badly as I do, so I put a Decelerator pad on the rifle, wear a recoil pad for long bench sessions, and concentrate on sight picture, trigger squeeze, and follow through. That and shooting 100 gr. bullets is a lot more pleasant.

In developing loads, remember the bullet is only a part of the recoil equation. The "ejecta", a combination of bullet weight and powder charge weight, is the main culprit. Reduce the bullet weight from the heaviest available (Speer 105 gr., if I am not mistaken), to an 80-90 gr. hunting bullet, and use the beginning load found in any good manual, and you will probably lower the recoil somewhat. Enough to matter? Who knows. Good luck in your search, and success to the young man.

train the little guy on a22 rimfire for a while,with a scope on it, if you intend to scope the 243. if the 22 weighs about the same, and looks simular to the243,the little guy won't feel the recoil ,anyway, if he's pulling the trigger on a whitetail. did my son that way,he never even saw the 243until hunting day,and still thought he shot the deer with my scoped 22 cal. PS. this will also get him used to the scope,and ,will keep him from wearing home a black eye ,with his buck.. tell him ole' kentucky said goodluck on his hunt

95 gr Nosler Ballistic tip or Hornady 100 gr at 2600 fps will do just fine. My buddy just started his kid with this load and the kid shot a big mulie doe with this load and 1 shot. DRT-dead right there.

Thanks all... I think I'll work up an accurate, low recoil load with Partitions or X-Bullets and put a Limbsaver recoil pad on it. PointBlank says I should be able to get the recoil down to about 7lbs... Next summer we'll get the deer targets out and have him practice, practice, practice.

Thanks all... I think I'll work up an accurate, low recoil load with Partitions or X-Bullets and put a Limbsaver recoil pad on it. .. Next summer we'll get the deer targets out and have him practice, practice, practice.REM7600

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